Los Angeles County reported 4,860 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 193 deaths on Saturday and confirmed nine new cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals was 4,607, with 28% of people in intensive care units.
The latest figures brought the county’s totals since the pandemic began to 1,143,422 cases and 17,955 deaths, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Recent cases of MIS-C bring the total number of infected children in the county to 75, including one death. MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 and symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
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All 75 children with MIS-C in Los Angeles County were hospitalized and 44% were treated in the ICU. Of the 75, 32% were under 5, 39% were between 5 and 11 and 29% were between 12 and 20. Latino children account for 76% of reported cases, the department said.
The daily number of new infections and the hospitalization rate have been steadily declining over the past month, but officials warn the public to be wary of Sunday’s Super Bowl to prevent a repeat of the World Series and World Cup finals. Last year’s NBA, when they met in bars. restaurants and private homes were blamed for fueling a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Despite seeing some declines, we continue to experience widespread community transmission in our county,” said public health director Barbara Ferrer. “The riskiest thing people can do tomorrow for Super Bowl Sunday, given our high number of cases, is to meet with others who don’t live with them to enjoy the game. Don’t attend or organize parties that could turn “Super Bowl Sunday in a super-spreader Sunday. Instead, enjoy the game at home with those who live with you or connect virtually with friends and family online to avoid a further increase in cases.”
Meanwhile, county officials on Friday reported slow but steady progress in COVID-19 vaccination efforts, but said less than 3 percent of the population has been completely vaccinated and that it will be difficult to reach appointments for first doses next week.
At the county’s five large-scale vaccination sites, a limited number of first doses will be given on Monday, with the rest of the week’s appointments reserved only for people who need their second dose of medication, according to Dr. Paul. Simon, head of science at the county health department.
Simon said that while the problem only applies to the county’s five megapages, residents may run into problems elsewhere as all providers deal with vaccine supplies.
“Unfortunately, the biggest problem we continue to consider in our ability to vaccinate is the shortage of supply and the variability in the amount of vaccine we receive weekly,” Simon said. “This has been a problem across the country and makes planning a challenge.”
According to Simon, the latest figures indicate that more than 1.05 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the county so far, including just over 104,000 seconds. This means that 2.6% of the population aged 16 and over in the county population has been fully vaccinated so far. About 11% of the population aged 16 and over has received at least one dose.
The slow progress of the vaccination program has led some residents to be creative in finding ways to manipulate the appointment system to access the shots.
Some people who do not yet meet the requirements to receive the vaccine have been slow to persist at vaccination sites with the likelihood of dose remnants at the end of the day being administered to avoid wasting them. Ferrer said this week there have been issues with people claiming to be carers of disabled children and presenting themselves at vaccination sites with a generic, photocopied letter identifying them as such.
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Simon outlined another way some people have tried to jump the line to get vaccines. According to Simon, people who received emails from the county about scheduling an appointment for a second dose of the vaccine have shared the unique web link included in the emails with friends. Those people “schedule an appointment with the first dose even though they are not eligible to be vaccinated at this time.”
“It’s important for people to understand that these actions are removing access to vaccination for high-risk people who are eligible for the vaccine right now,” Simon said. “When we identify these appointments, they are being canceled. I want the public to be aware that people who are not eligible and who come to one of our sites with any of these shared appointments will be rejected.”
He said he had no figures on how many people have tried to jump the line that way, but “it happened enough for us to notice it very clearly.”
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“In some cases it was done very intentionally: I think it could be characterized as a trap,” he said. “And in other cases, I think people just, you know, didn’t necessarily see it that way, but looking at every opportunity to get vaccinated.”
Simon said the county was trying to figure out a way to modify the computer system to prevent those appointments from being made.
According to Simon, the county received 184,625 doses of vaccine this week and Ferrer said earlier this week the county expects a larger endowment next week, possibly more than 200,000, but the size of weekday shipments remains a mysteries.
Simon expressed hope that supplies would continue to increase and congratulated the pending establishment of a Federal Emergency Management Agency vaccination site in Cal State Los Angeles, which will complement local dose availability. The possible approval of single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines in the coming weeks will also be a great advantage.